


number 22

by andnowforyaya



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Crush at First Sight, High School, M/M, Monsta X Bingo, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 14:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11945862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andnowforyaya/pseuds/andnowforyaya
Summary: “Who,” Jooheon breathes into Changkyun’s ear, “is that?”





	number 22

“Who,” Jooheon breathes into Changkyun’s ear, “is that?”

Changkyun flicks at Jooheon’s face with his hands, grunting when his fingers accidentally meet Jooheon’s cheeks and lips. “Gross, hyung. Your breath is all...damp.”

“Changkyun, who is that?” Jooheon asks again, arms hooked over the back of the seat in front of him. On the stage is a boy with bright pink hair before a single standing mic, his cheeks flushed as he clears his throat. The sleeves of his sweater fall past his hands, balled into fists. The auditorium is still humming with the last resonant note of the song he sang, his voice thick and full and lush, and Jooheon thinks he could live a perfectly content life hearing that note and only that note until the day he dies. The boy steps shuffles forward, his shoes hitting the microphone stand, and feedback pierces and shrieks through the sound system.

Everyone winces. The boy flinches, rights the microphone, says something too far from the bulb of the microphone for the sound to carry, and then closer, right against it: “Sorry, sorry. Uh, am I done?”

“You’re done,” Changkyun says, waving his hand from his seat. To his left and right are fellow members of the Student Council, all of whom are taking part in judging for the school’s annual talent show and taking notes on clipboards. “Thank you, Kihyun-sshi. Results will be posted tomorrow afternoon.”

Kihyun bows and plods off the stage and very nearly runs to be behind the curtain again.

“Kihyun?” Jooheon repeats. “Changkyun -- I just fell in love.”

“Can you stop?” Changkyun looks over his shoulder at his friend, who had insisted on joining Changkyun in judging the auditions for ‘moral support’. Changkyun had pointed out helpfully that it wasn’t necessarily the judges who needed the support, but those actually auditioning. Jooheon had decided to accompany anyway, because Changkyun is boring without him. Or bored. Both, maybe. “I’m trying to be an impartial judge here.”

“How can you be impartial when you’ve just heard that? Is he an angel? Changkyun, I have to know him.”

“So go talk to him. He’s a year older but new. It’s your own dignity on the line.” Then, louder: “Okay, Number 23?”

The next act is a girl playing Dance Dance Revolution on extra hard. Only she doesn’t have a dance pad with her. Or the game.

Jooheon leaves with Kihyun’s name on his mind, his song still ringing in his ears.

.

Contrary to popular belief, Jooheon isn’t all that great with his words though he likes to gab. Sure, he writes stellar raps and delivers them with snapping rhythm and cutting jabs, but in the face of a bona fide cutie all of that turns into mush in Jooheon’s brain and he ends up acting like he a toddler looking for affirmation from his mommy in front of attractive people or other people he finds intimidating.

He doesn’t actually gather up the nerve to talk to Kihyun until the night of the Talent Show, while he’s backstage helping Changkyun and the rest of Student Council run tech and props. He has the setlist and convinced Minhyuk to let him take over his spot as stage manager for just five minutes when Kihyun’s turn is up (by promising to do Minhyuk’s Geography homework for a week).

(Joke's on Minhyuk because Jooheon is awful at Geography.)

So he’s waiting with Minhyuk’s headset on his own head instead, and there’s a voice in his ear telling him to get Kihyun on-deck, and then there’s Kihyun, hair still pink, a tiny bit of blush and glitter on his cheeks, dressed in black and looking like a pretty comet trailing across a dark sky and Kihyun is saying, “Hello? Hello? Am I up? Should I go?”

Jooheon blinks. “Oh,” he says. “Um, hold on. I have to say -- you look amazing.” Kihyun’s eyes widen at him. “I mean!” Jooheon corrects quickly. “You’ll do amazing. You have an amazing voice. I heard you before. That’s what I mean.”

And then Kihyun smiles at him and Jooheon’s heart just about bursts right through his chest.

“Thanks,” Kihyun says. “Jooheon, right?”

Jooheon can only nod as Kihyun walks off, takes center stage, and the lights come down around him as the other boy starts to sing.

.

“How did he know my name?” Jooheon wails. “Oh god, have I been obvious? How did he know? Changkyun, did you tell him?”

It is after the Talent Show and Jooheon is waiting for Changkyun to buckle his seatbelt in the passenger’s seat of Jooheon’s old beat-up car so that Jooheon can drive Changkyun home and then drive himself off a cliff.

“Relax,” Changkyun says. “He does yearbook. He’s probably seen your picture around or something.”

“He does yearbook!” Jooheon screeches.

Changkyun covers his ears and glares at Jooheon. “This really isn’t a big deal.”

“Okay,” Jooheon says at a more reasonable volume. “First of all, drop that judgment out of your voice, son. I can hear it. We can all hear it and it’s not appreciated. Second -- it’s _so_ a big deal. He has a hobby. He has _more than_ one hobby. He’s gorgeous and talented and has things he loves to do and he’s probably from the rich part of Seoul and I’m like a pauper and we’re like star-crossed lovers, you know? And he’ll love me even though I’m poor and I’ll love him even though he’s probably a jerk and we’ll get married and have one girl and one boy and three dogs.”

“I think you’re being dramatic,” Changkyun says as Jooheon starts the car and the engine sputters to life.

“I think your nose is dramatic,” Jooheon bites back quickly, throwing his headlights on.

Changkyun gasps. “You take that back.”

A body hits the hood of Jooheon’s car with a loud thud considering how the car is currently stationary and they both scream, but it’s only Minhyuk, his blond hair like platinum in the light. “Party at Hoseok’s!” Minhyuk shouts, drumming his hands excitedly against the hood. “Everyone is coming, so I will see! You! There!”

Jooheon’s hands are tight around his steering wheel as Minhyuk skips off, accosting other cars and probably giving the people inside them the same invitation. As his breathing evens out from the scare Minhyuk probably didn't even know he was giving to him, regret fills his stomach and he turns to face his best friend. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that about your nose. I mean, it _is_ dramatic. But in a good way.”

Changkyun scoffs. “I know. It gives my face character.”

.

Hoseok’s basement is already full of people by the time Jooheon and Changkyun arrive. They’d had to park almost a full two blocks away and walk because Hoseok’s driveway was packed and the right side of the street was off limits for street cleaning. Hoseok’s basement opens right out into his family’s small backyard, so as they approach, they can hear music blasting from inside.

“You made it!” Minhyuk greets them quickly before running off to greet someone else, always moving and flitting and beaming that sunny smile around. Jooheon and Changkyun wander into the kitchen where on the island counter stands a stack of red disposable cups and punch bowl filled with red liquid next to it. A hastily-written sign is taped to the edge of the island counter, stark black ink on white paper: _DON’T BE A DUMB DD._

Jooheon laughs, reading the sign, pointing it out to Changkyun.

Changkyun shrugs. “Guess who’s not drinking?” He snaps finger guns at Jooheon. “You, my man!”

Jooheon stops laughing. “I have no idea why I’m friends with you,” he returns.

.

Just four drinks later Jooheon finds himself waiting for Changkyun outside of the bathroom as Changkyun dry heaves into the toilet bowl. The door is closed, thankfully, because Jooheon can’t handle that gross stuff when it comes out of himself let alone another person and part of why he and Changkyun's relationship works so well is that Changkyun is aware of this, but the sound still carries. He tries to stifle his own gag reflex while attempting to distract himself of the noise by playing a game on his phone.

Luckily, they’ve already got a couple rounds of ping pong and Mario Kart under their figurative belts so all-in-all if the night ends here outside of the single bathroom in Hoseok's basement, Jooheon would call it a success. Except he can’t escape the feeling that someone more should have happened.

Which is when a shadows passes over his feet as he stands guard in front of the bathroom.

“Oh, I wouldn’t--” 

Jooheon looks up and meets the eyes of Yoo Kihyun.

“Wouldn’t…?” Kihyun prompts, tilting his head to the side and pursing his lips. Jooheon realizes he’s been staring.

“My friend,” he chokes out. “He’s -- uh -- puking. It’s gross.”

Kihyun scrunches his nose and it’s just about the cutest thing Jooheon has ever seen on a human being. He very nearly squeals at the other boy.

“Oh,” Kihyun says. “Thanks, I guess.” A pause, where Kihyun looks Jooheon up and down. “Hey, great job, by the way. With the stage management for the show.”

Jooheon blushes and slips his phone into his back pocket. “That was...all Minhyuk, actually. I’m an impostor. I took over his post so that I could see -- I mean I just wanted to try it out for a couple minutes.”

Kihyun smiles a smile that makes his eyes turn into crescents, that makes dimples form on his cheeks. Jooheon’s heart screams at him to do something. “Well, you specifically were helpful to me, so. Thanks.”

“Uh,” Jooheon says smartly.

“Anyway, I guess I’ll find a bathroom upstairs.”

Kihyun turns to go with a shrug, and Jooheon reaches out to him without thinking, hand around his wrist, keeping him still. When Kihyun drops his gaze to Jooheon’s hands and raises his eyebrows at Jooheon in question, Jooheon snatches his hand back like he’d been burned.

“Sorry,” Jooheon says, taking a deep breath. Then, before he can lose his nerve: “I just wanted to ask for your number.”

.

Jooheon stares at the screen of his phone in his car, the glow from it lighting up his face. There’s a message loaded that reads: _Hey this is kihyun <3 _

He stares at it some more as Changkyun groans in the passenger seat, rubbing his belly.

“Now you just have to unclench your ass cheeks and text him,” Changkyun slurs.

“My friend,” Jooheon says full of good humor, “that is good advice indeed.”

.

**Author's Note:**

> for the 'school life' square in MX Rare Pair Bingo 2017.
> 
> thanks for reading! this is trash but comments are appreciated i guess
> 
> i'm also on [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/yayawrites)!


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